McElroy Products and Services Aid Mining in Mongolia McElroy machines often work in ditches at Oyu Tolgoi to protect from the wind and sandstorms that kick up occasionally. One of the largest mining sites in the world isn’t producing any yield today. There’s nothing coming out of the ground in terms of serious revenue just yet, but there’s plenty going into the ground at Oyu Tolgoi, in southern Mongolia. Including polyethylene pipe. At any given time, there are more than 5,000 workers at the mining site in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Those workers represent more than 20 countries, attempting to get the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine to full production by 2018. When all is said and done, the mine will make up 30 percent of Mongolia’s gross domestic product and should yield 81 billion pounds of copper and 46 million ounces of gold. The first ore is scheduled to be mined in June 2012. To support the workforce and on-going operations, piping is needed. That’s where polyethylene comes in. Polyethylene piping offers any copper mine plenty of options, including but not limited to: Discharge tailings pipelines that carry away a slurry mix of water, sand and rocks. Water supply pipelines that provide water to mills in order to complete mining processes. Contaminated water discharge pipelines that separate and isolate bad water from the mining process away from good. Potable water lines for the mine and mill, so workers can have clean drinking water, as well as bathroom resources. Conduits for electrical lines traversing under crossings and road passages. McElroy is honored to have fusion machines on this monumental site, and with good reason. Decision makers on site have demanded that the best possible equipment be used in the mining operations at Oyu Tolgoi. According to a report in International Mining, Oyu Tolgoi’s policy is the “use of latest equipment to ensure mining quality and standards that are second to none.” Along with McElroy distributor Ten Square, McElroy University courses were taught on site to contractor personnel eager to learn about the fusion process with McElroy machines. MegaMc™ 2065s, 1236s, 824s and some smaller fusion machines are being used in Mongolia and have been in the middle of the action since May. The winds of the Gobi Desert sometimes kicked into high gear, creating sandstorms in the area. The fusion machines at the mine are often found in ditch and sometimes tented to protect from the sandstorms. In addition to the fusion machines, Oyu Tolgoi personnel are big believers in the DataLogger® for recording and documenting each fusion joint made. A McElroy DataLogger is a cost-effective device that is used to verify that the proper fusion procedures have been followed prior to installation. The device consists of a rugged, handheld computer for recording and navigating the data and a data-collection unit that records heater temperature and fusion pressure over time. To support the machines on the ground, McElroy has also provided on-site training as an extension of McElroy University. As visiting consultants in the middle of the desert, McElroy’s Ted Striplin and John Murphy traded the normal hotel rooms for “gers,” which are makeshift tents with wood framing and fabric strong enough to endure the near constant 30 mile per hour winds of the flat desert region. For meals, Murphy and Striplin joined the thousands of other workers speaking a large collection of foreign languages. McElroy Technical Service Specialist John Murphy stands outside a “ger” in the Gobi Desert. Thanks to Ted Striplin for the photographs from Mongolia.  “I want to express my appreciation to your staff,” wrote Michael Darland, a general superintendent on site. “We had a problem with one of the DataLoggers, but working with (McElroy engineer) Kean Chin, who was working with us on the phone from his home late at night, we were successful in correcting the problem. Good customer service comes from the corporate design and staff involved. Your people were dedicated to helping us correct the problem.” Two McElroy distributors are part of the project, with ISCO Industries providing the machines and Ten Square International contracted to train workers performing the fusion operations. Polyethylene pipe and pipe fusion is a small cog in the machine at Oyu Tolgoi, but it’s a great opportunity to show the world what the pipe and fusion machines can accomplish. Sincerely, Tyler Henning P.S. – Do you have an interesting job site that you would like to share? McElroy is always looking for fusion job sites where HDPE is being used and fused to solve an infrastructure problem. Contact Tyler Henning, public relations specialist at (918) 831-9286 or by email at thenning@mcelroy.com
	Pit Bull® 26 McElroy’s Pit Bull® 26 fusion machine is compact, lightweight and rugged with the ability to butt fuse pipe sizes from 2-inch IPS through 6-inch DIPS (63mm to 180mm) and all models come standard with a 6-inch IPS insert set. With a design similar to the McElroy’s popular Pit Bull 14, the Pit Bull 26 features McElroy’s patented Centerline Guidance System and a semi-automatic locking cam system that maintains force during the cooling cycle. Contractors and pipeliners that already own McElroy’s PolyPorter® and PolyHorse™ can continue to use those tools with the new Pit Bull 26 for enhanced productivity. Patented Centerline Guidance System for equal distribution of force around the joint Semi-automatic locking cam system maintains force during cooling Hard anodized aluminum wear surfaces for corrosion resistance Serrated jaws and inserts keep pipe from slipping during fusion Reversible jaws, clamp knobs, levers, and facer allow operator to fuse from either side of the machine Thrust-bearing-equipped clamp knobs to minimize torque required to clamp and round pipe Electric facer for fast, efficient facing Microprocessor-controlled heater temperature ISO-compliant industrial Teflon-coated heater plates 17-to-1 mechanical advantage http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/26/
	McElroy to Exhibit at UCT 2012 McElroy will be in San Antonio, Texas from January 24th through 26th for the annual Underground Construction Technology (UCT) International Conference and Exhibition. Come visit us at Booth 240, and see the following products: TracStar® 412 Pit Bull® 26 New DataLogger® 4 New Guided Side-Bend Tester We hope to see you there!
	Reflecting on a Year for Trade Shows This year has been loaded with trade shows across different industries. From ConExpo to ICUEE to UCT, there’s been plenty of opportunities to learn and network at trade shows across the globe. Contact Tyler Henning at thenning@mcelroy.com to reflect on trade shows that you’ve attended this year. How many did you attend? What did you learn? Which trade show was your favorite? Let us know!
	Our pictures this month come from Troy Taylor, from McElroy distributor ETNA Supply. Taylor fabricates a lot of headers for geothermal projects in Michigan and surrounding area. Here’s a look at the some Sidewinder™ and Rolling 412 action on a recent geothermal project for a community college. Initial plans were to use ductile iron for part of the project, but HDPE won the bid due to reduced costs and a longer lifecycle for the system. If you have photos from a jobsite, we'd love to see them! Yours may be chosen for the next issue of McElroy Connections. Simply email your photos to Tyler Henning, at thenning@mcelroy.com.
	Congrats to WL Plastics on an expansion. #HDPE http://ow.ly/6UbIY Oct 11th FEMA partially funds #HDPE water pipeline retrofit in seismically active area. http://ow.ly/6IP3X Sep 29th Want to help make America? Show your support for America's infrastructure at the "I Make America" Virtual March on D.C.:http://ow.ly/6GvfY Sep 27th 1200mm #HDPE water main installed in Australia through horizontal directional drilling methods. http://ow.ly/6Gc9f Sep 27th Be sure to check out page 81 of the Sept. 2011 issue of Underground Construction for a great article on PE and HDD. You can also read it online at:http://ucononline.com/daytona- beach-races-ahead-hdd-solutions Sep 27th The drought in Texas is highlighting the need for #HDPE use to deliver reliable water services. Interesting article: http://ow.ly/6GbOg Sep 27th Pipe bursting and #HDPE to be used in a quick sewer line fix near Cleveland, Ohio. http://ow.ly/6EQsU Sep 26th Great to see our friends at Murphy Pipelines putting in #HDPEthrough static pipe bursting methods! http://ow.ly/6Dl3a Sep 23rd Sad that our distributor conference is almost over. Here's a pic of@JasonLawrence giving a demo from today.http://yfrog.com/o0t48unj Sep 22nd We're excited to have a large group of McElroy distributor personnel in town this week for our annual Distributor Conference! Sep 20th Today is the 5th anniversary of the first PolyHorse from McElroy shipping out. Ever used one with 3 to 20 inch #HDPE?http://ow.ly/5PIVb Sep 18th Great to see Scottish Water using #HDPE to bring safe, clean, dependable water piping to the communities they serve.http://ow.ly/6wMEI Sep 17th #HDPE pipe is used in a cattle feeder. Is there anything #HDPEpiping isn't good for? http://ow.ly/6wMBQ Sep 16th
	Alliance for PE Pipe WaterWorld  Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Plastics Pipe Institute